Friday, November 23, 2007

Giving Thanks, and a Turkey Debacle

No, not the sort of turkey you're thinking of, thank goodness. I offered to help Adam's mom with Thanksgiving dinner yesterday and she put me on dessert duty, making cupcakes for the kids that were supposed to look like this. She bought these hilarious silicone cupcake molds and couldn't find any candy corn, so we got jelly beans in fall colors instead. "No problem," I told her. "This will be so easy," I said. "They'll look even better than the picture."Now before I show you the result of my overconfidence and lack of competence I must make one thing clear. Despite my craftiness, I am severely domestically challenged. Severely. I really shouldn't be allowed in the kitchen if what I'm making involves much more than boiling water, and even that goes wrong sometimes. Baking, especially, is not my forte. I had no idea that in order for the frosting to stay nice and stiff on top of the cupcakes to make that cute little turkey head it needed to be refrigerated first. So I just plopped room temperature icing on top of them and hoped for the best. They looked really adorable. For about five minutes. Then Tom Turkey began to droop. And slide. And flatten...Until I ended up with a flock of sorry looking turkey cupcakes, half of which looked like they had been beaten about the head with a shovel and the other half with melting faces. Yeah. Lesson learned. At least they tasted good, and everyone had a good laugh. These, on the other hand, turned out pretty cute. Probably because they didn't involve any feats of engineering with icing.Now for a few things I am thankful for this year:

Adam. Not only is he a wonderful partner and father, but he works so hard to provide for our family and afford me the opportunity to stay at home with Autumn. He is gentle and patient and sometimes understands me more than I understand myself. I can't imagine sharing my life with anyone else.

My sewing machine, "The Beast." The Beast (please tell me I'm not the only one who names her sewing machines) is the best sewing machine I've ever used. He's a Singer Quantum Futura and he is more user friendly and chock full of features than any other machine I've owned. He was given to me by Adam's mother Michelle, which brings me to...

Grandmothers. Oh what would I do without grandmothers? They know just how to make a cranky preschooler smile when her mother is too flustered and worn out to think straight. They always put their grandchildren first and always have a helping hand to lend and advice to give. Michelle, my mom and my grandma are all wonderful grandmothers and I am so thankful for all of them.

Autumn. My sweet little Mini Me. She has brought so much joy to my life since the day she was born, and though I know it's a parent's job to educate her children, I think I've learned even more about life from her.

The fact that I can eat all the pumpkin pie, stuffing, and mashed potatoes I want without feeling guilty. I've finally realized that all the time I've wasted fussing over my imaginary body issues can be spent actually enjoying life and the time I have with my family.

Last but not least, I am thankful for you, my blog readers. I smile every time I read your comments and know that someone out there, be it a close friend or a stranger, can relate to what I'm saying and has stories of their own to share. Thank you so much for being a part of my blog.By the way, dinner itself was great. I managed not to screw up reheating the vegetables in the microwave and pouring drinks. My grandmother came down from PA to visit for the weekend, and today we went to the Festival of Trees at the Maryland State Fairgrounds. More about that tomorrow, because now Adam and I are off on a rare outing to see an R-rated movie (another reason I'm thankful for grandmothers). Happy belated Thanksgiving everyone!